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Monthly Archives: January 2016

Wow, it’s not even February and I’m done with the kids Valentines. Go me! I’ve had this site pinned for a little while and I decided this is the year is the right year for this.

To do this Valentine, you need your pictures, with or without added text. Have your kid hold their hand up, as if holding a balloon. Then you need a straight blade, I used my trusty work box cutter, and balloons.

When you are cutting, cut your lines above and below the fist. You don’t need wide cuts, like the picture on the left. Thin, almost invisible lines, like those on the right, work just as well.

Then you thread the balloon through the cuts. The easiest method for this is to gently bend the photo and thread through both cuts in one motion.

Then you have your finished Valentines. Ready to offer balloons to your children’s classmates.

If you’re anything like me, you have a cupboard or cabinet that is filled with water bottles or travel mugs. I actually have two such cabinets.

It starts with a travel mug or two, throw in some water bottles. Then they accumulate. For all I know, they mate at night and make more bottles! Going through my cabinets, I see bottles I didn’t know we had. These don’t even include my Starbucks cups, which get tucked into the pantry.

My kitchen is currently trapped in the 70s. I have ugly cabinets and no storage space. I need my space back! Enter Pinterest.

I saw a picture on Pinterest of this. All you need is an over-the-door shoe organizer. I have mine hanging over my basement door and it cleared so much space in my cabinet.

The only problem with this is the noise it makes when opening or closing the door. *clunk* We’ll be adding industrial strength double sided sticky tape soon. I need to make the noise stop before Tony chucks the whole thing down the stairs.

I don’t think it’s come up yet, but I am a bit of a pack rat. I save stuff that I will probably never need again, but I don’t like letting go. I’m not talking about collectibles either, like my Star Wars toys, still in the package, I’m talking about cards. Birthday cards, Christmas cards, even get well soon cards. I like holding onto them.
Along came this brilliant pin that showed me exactly what to do with them!

Start by punching holes in your cards. Do a little planning and make sure they’ll all be going the same way. Using a three hole punch will be the easiest way to do this, just so the holes are spaced evenly.

Next up, make yourself a snazzy cover for your card book. I just dug into my scrapbook paper and my fancy scissors. The original blogger has a link to some fancy cover templates, but I like going my own way most of the time.

I used note card rings to “bind” my book together. I had our family Christmas card as the first card in our book.

I was super pleased with how this came out! Even Tony was impressed at my new ways of hoarding. Huge accomplishment today! If you’ve been keeping your Christmas cards, with no apparent use for them, this is the craft for you!

It’s been another good year. It feels like bragging to say that they’re only getting better, but they are!

I started this year as a manager, but made the choice to step down in the spring. The job I was so excited to get in 2014 just wasn’t for me. I gave it a good try, spending a year and half trying to develop my management skills, but it was not for me. I’ve realized that I do better as an hourly associate, and having been with the company so long, I’m making good money that way. Stepping down, to a third shift associate, I’ve taken back time with my kids. I now work when they’re asleep and I sleep while they’re in school. I see them all the time now, and it’s amazing!

With my new schedule, Tony was able to go back to work this year. It’s the first time he’s been able to consistently work since before Chiara was born. He loves his new job and it’s so great to see him thriving at it. He has a new sense of accomplishment at the end of week when he brings home his check.

We lost a member of the extended family when Tony’s uncle Nick died. That was a sad reason to go to New Jersey, but it was a great memorial for Nick because he was such a laid back guy. Very easy to talk about the good memories and tough to be sad. We’ll miss him, but it was very easy to imagine him there, laughing along with the memories. Who else would love knowing that everyone who had them, wore Converse to their funeral? Definitely Uncle Nick!

We had another wedding this year, my family this time, when my cousin Katy got married. She was stunningly beautiful and her new husband is so amazing! They look amazing together and I know they will be happy together!

The kids took on some additional activities this year. Arthur is still doing Boy Scouts and just started doing karate as well. He loves it and I’m noticing a huge difference in his behavior. He’s becoming much more focused, and it’s amazing to see. Chiara started Daisy Scouts this year and dance class. She’s loving the meetings with the other girls. The dance classes have been amazing for her. She loves the movement, usually treating Tony and I to a show after every class.

I’m anticipating another great year in 2016, but then again, we’re on a roll in the DeSantis house!